Tag: john-the-baptist

Advent Reflection: How Sure Are We That We Would Listen to the Message of Our John the Baptist? Matthew 3:1

Matthew 3:1-6 English Standard Version

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

3 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2  “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”[a] 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

“The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare[b] the way of the Lord;
    make his paths straight.’”

4 Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

The Word of God for the Children of God.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

If John the Baptist were alive today, a noisy passenger on an airplane, or an unkempt passenger on a commuter train, a homeless person sitting against a building with his sign or someone standing on some street corner or in some other public place with a bullhorn or mic running his mouth, his message to the masses would be the same message he preached in the wilderness so long ago.

“Where do you think you are going , how far can you run you brood of snakes?”

“Do not think for even one hot second you can flee from God’s coming wrath!”

Picking up a rock or stick he says shaking them; “God can raise up far better Christians than you with these!”

“Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Who is actually going to take any time to actually listen to any of those words without thinking: “He is Drunk!” “He is off of his medications!” “Arrest him!”

We certainly won’t ever go near him to be baptized in any river called Jordan!

Just another sad, down on his luck soul in weird clothing not worth any time.

Yet, I wonder how many of us would take him seriously – in our world that is deafened by the constant noise and chaos, how many would actually listen to a man in the streets of any city who claimed to be preparing the way of the Lord?

John’s timeless message is like a banner waving over every heart on the planet.

It continues to wave bold and strong, even in our darkest of days – like today!

We all need only look up, pay attention and see that God’s kingdom is at hand.

Our present circumstances are not our final destination-here is not all there is!

The beautiful thing about that ancient John the Baptist’s invitation, is that it does not require any whole google search check-list of things to accomplish.

There is no get-your-life-together-first requirement – there are no rules you and I have to follow before repentance – for repentance now is where it begins.

A moment of recognition then a moment of confession (Peter’s Confession of Christ as Messiah when the disciples were asked by Jesus who did the people say, and thought Jesus was – and Jesus proclaiming BINGO) Matthew 16:13-20

The Bible assures us that when a person, or a nation, repents of sin, God is faithful and just to forgive (1 John 1:9).

When people humble themselves and with their whole heart seek the Lord, He will hear them – He will heal them. And, He forgives them (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Have we lost that “very first loving feeling” of being 1000% forgiven by God?

Psalm 32 English Standard Version

Blessed Are the Forgiven

A Maskil[a] of David.

32 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
    whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
    and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
    through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
    my strength was dried up[b] as by the heat of summer. Selah

5 I acknowledged my sin to you,
    and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
    and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

6 Therefore let everyone who is godly
    offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
surely in the rush of great waters,
    they shall not reach him.
7 You are a hiding place for me;
    you preserve me from trouble;
    you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
    which must be curbed with bit and bridle,
    or it will not stay near you.

10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
    but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.
11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
    and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

What a simple, yet unheeded message from the Psalmist’s and John’s call:

“Know you will be blessed” “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

If that ancient John the Baptist declared the kingdom of heaven was at hand, more than 2,000 years ago, exactly how much nearer is God’s kingdom today?

Every new moment of everyday, we are one step closer to our heavenly home.

Yet, how likely is it that we will continue to live as though this is all there is?

We will continue to strive for the things of earth, which will one day pass away.

Even Jesus himself said to those who had gathered around Him, His Message,

Matthew 5:4 Amplified Bible

4 “Blessed [forgiven, refreshed by God’s grace] are those who mourn [over their sins and repent], for they will be comforted [when the burden of sin is lifted].

Today, let’s take 1% more heed to John’s ancient, yet relevant message, ask God to begin, renew our hearts, minds, souls, surrendering more everything to Him.

Every spark of coming chaos, darkness, hardship, trial, sin, and struggle, let us enter our prayer closets, invite God inside, confess them, to lay them at His feet.

Will you read John’s ancient admonishment as recorded here in Scripture and in some part of your busy day-take the time to absorb them-try to find relevance?

There is a brooding, budding John the Baptist within every single unbeliever!

There is a brooding, budding John the Baptist within each and every Christian!

When does our world of chaos and darkness around us-hear his words of truth?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Heavenly Father, We come before You, humbly seeking Your will and Your way. Forgive us, Lord, for doing as we please, in a world that is not our home. Help us to gain a heavenly perspective of “By Your stripes we were healed”. Help us heed the timeless call of John the Baptist—“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 

Please, ABBA Father, give us a fresh and refreshed and refreshing boldness and more clarity to share this message with those around us, to break away from the noise and chaos and speak words of truth. Thank You, Father, for preparing the way through Your Son. There is no other way. Continue to work in our lives until the glorious day when Jesus returns. For it is by Him, for Him, and because of Him that we live, and move, and have our being. It is in His name above all names that we pray. Amen.

https://translate.google.com/

Advent Prophet: if John the Baptist Called Out into the Gathered Crowds? Luke 3:1-14

Luke 3:1-14 New Living Translation

John the Baptist Prepares the Way

3 It was now the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, the Roman emperor. Pontius Pilate was governor over Judea; Herod Antipas was ruler[a] over Galilee; his brother Philip was ruler[b] over Iturea and Traconitis; Lysanias was ruler over Abilene. 2  Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. At this time a message from God came to John son of Zechariah, who was living in the wilderness.  3  Then John went from place to place on both sides of the Jordan River, preaching that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven. 4 Isaiah had spoken of John when he said,

“He is a voice shouting in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming!
    Clear the road for him!
5 The valleys will be filled,
    and the mountains and hills made level.
The curves will be straightened,
    and the rough places made smooth.
6 And then all people will see
    the salvation sent from God.’”[c]

7 When the crowds came to John for baptism, he said, “You brood of snakes! Who warned you to flee the coming wrath? 8 Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. 9 Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.”

10 The crowds asked, “What should we do?”

11 John replied, “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.”

12 Even corrupt tax collectors came to be baptized and asked, “Teacher, what should we do?”

13 He replied, “Collect no more taxes than the government requires.”

14 “What should we do?” asked some soldiers.

John replied, “Don’t extort money or make false accusations. And be content with your pay.”

The Word of God for the Children of God

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

Hypothetically, imagine slipping into an airline seat for a three-hour flight or boarding that same old commuter train for that long morning work commute.

The man next to you politely begins to exchange some general pleasan­tries.

But as the commute continues, the polite tone of the conversation changes.

The man begins to mutter something, in fact, he mutters several somethings.

These “somethings” are things which instantly cause you to bristle, to squirm.

Luke 3:7-9The Message

7-9 When crowds of people came out for baptism because it was the popular thing to do, John exploded: you “Brood of snakes! What do you think you’re doing slithering down here to the river? Do you think a little water on your snakeskins is going to deflect God’s judgment? It’s your life that must change, not your skin. And don’t think you can pull rank by claiming Abraham as ‘father.’ Being a child of Abraham is neither here nor there—children of Abraham are a dime a dozen. God can make children from stones if he wants. What counts is your life. Is it green and is it even flourishing? Because if it’s deadwood, it goes on the fire.”

Very soon you discover, realize that he also has extreme views about religion, even more extreme views about politics and governance, how people respond.

His goal as you fly the friendly skies or just try to get to work for another day, is to convince you that your far too casual way of life is putting you in danger of snake venom, the fires of hell – it dawns on you it’s going to be a very long day!

Now imagine that it is not just you who are in ear shot of all these harsh words.

You aren’t the only one on the airplane nor the only one on the commuter train.

On the plane we might hope that the louder and more raucous this guy gets that the flight attendants would not be so slow to intervene on this guys intrusions.

They might even try to move him to another seat – but that is no promise nor is it any guarantee that this guy will not just stand up and cause another ruckus.

Maybe if it gets to be too much – someone would inform the pilot – or if there was an Air Marshall with a pair of handcuffs and something to cover his mouth.

Maybe if it goes to the extreme of extremes, the Pilot will turn the plane around.

Anything, anywhere-as long as someone figures out how to shut the guy down.

Now, back in the commuter train – the people just have to sit restlessly and just listen until they get to the next station and hope he gets tired and he gets off or they do and they simply accept the uncomfortable fact they will be late for work.

Imagine walking the downtown streets of any city or serving meals in a shelter and this guy walks up beside you, gets into your ears, or hands you a meal tray.

Perish the thought and pray such an occurrence is one you’ll never experience.

In a homeless shelter?

In an overnight shelter?

Spending a morning, an afternoon or evening or a whole night with the words of John the Baptist ringing in your ears would have been a similar experience.

After all, John’s hardcore extremist views believed you got ready for Christ’s coming by taking a hard, long, in­tense look at the ethical quality of your life.

Hearing enough of this message, listening to all the vitriol, high end criticism spewing from his mouth about quite literally everybody – who would not want have the plane turned around, to call the police this guy arrested – like Herod?

Luke 3:19-20 New Living Translation

19 John also publicly criticized Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee,[a] for marrying Herodias, his brother’s wife, and for many other wrongs he had done. 20 So Herod put John in prison, adding this sin to his many others.

Which one’s of us reading this reflection would be praying to God to keep such a man out of our lives, as far away from our “Christian experience” as is possible?

The Covenant Reality of Becoming an Advent Prophet

Isaiah 40:1-3 New Living Translation

Comfort for God’s People

40 “Comfort, comfort my people,”
    says your God.
2 “Speak tenderly to Jerusalem.
Tell her that her sad days are gone
    and her sins are pardoned.
Yes, the Lord has punished her twice over
    for all her sins.”

3 Listen! It’s the voice of someone shouting,
“Clear the way through the wilderness
    for the Lord!
Make a straight highway through the wasteland
    for our God!

Yet our preparing a pathway for the coming of the Messiah is our Advent task.

That means listening to John’s words and some (Psalm 51) clearing away the moral rubble that prevents God from taking His straight path to your hearts.

I mean we’ll never like, nor appreciate, anyone calling us a “brood of snakes!”

Yet, OUR King is coming, and He will remember the poor, cut down the proud.

The all too comfortable, utterly corrupt order of things, must come to a change.

The hardest thing for “contemporary Christians” is actually taking the time for us disciples to make the U-turn of repentance, to straighten out their priorities.

Preparing our homes for the season, getting it ready for Christmas isn’t first a matter of our remembering our perfect gifts for everyone on our family gift list.

It’s about remembering the very nature of citizenship in the King’s king­dom!

It’s about taking a moral inventory of our lives. What changes do we need to make so that we can welcome Christ with integrity on Christmas morning?

More Like Christ – More Like John the Baptist First?

Ephesians 5:1-2 New Living Translation

Living in the Light

5 Imitate God, therefore, in everything you do, because you are his dear children. 2 Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us[a] and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.

When I have asked, very Christian I have ever known will always profess this:

“Work in progress, trying to be more like Jesus every moment of every day!”

But, what about a bit more like John the Baptist in his camel hair wardrobe?

Luke 3:10-14 New Living Translation

10 The crowds asked, “What should we do?”

11 John replied, “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry.”

12 Even corrupt tax collectors came to be baptized and asked, “Teacher, what should we do?”

13 He replied, “Collect no more taxes than the government requires.”

14 “What should we do?” asked some soldiers.

John replied, “Don’t extort money or make false accusations. And be content with your pay.”

The changes John the Baptist was calling for do not appear .0001% radical.

One teacher I know of thinks John’s counsel is, for us, rather commonplace.

All we need to do, it seems to him, is to love a little, show a little kindness.

No career change is required.

I believe that interpretation goes too easy on many of us.

After all, many of us are well-to-do.

Many of us out there in the world have far more than two sets of clothing; many of us also have two cars, two or more credit cards, and maybe even two homes.

Our freezers are probably most full preparing for the Christmas feasts to come.

Yet, our hardcore reality: in light of our riches, John’s words become unsettling.

They demand a radical generosity that few of us are genuinely accustomed to.

True, John the Baptist does not specifically order anyone to leave his or her job.

But he definitely and directly does demand that we actually live out our faith by actually being honest and genuinely content and not ever abusing our power.

Clearly, any reading of Luke’s narrative reveals “John the Baptist Discipleship” is not something for the uncommitted, the timid nor for “after-hours only.”

We are not, so to speak, called or covenanted by God to moonlight for Christ.

Quite the contrary, our allegiance to Christ rules not only our after-work hours but also our hours travelling to work, our hours of actual work in the office, at the plant, on the road, in the air, on the trains, in class, at those sales meetings.

We can neither ignore the hardcore words of John the Baptist, leave Christ in church on Sundays nor let him “wait for us in the parking lot” on weekdays.

Here’s a question:

How do we, who are supposed to be dying to self and coming alive to Christ, do our work and other activities so that we honor Christ and respect our neighbor?

In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,

Let us Pray,

Lord Jesus, too often after hearing the good news we go right back to business as usual. Forgive us, and make our every thought captive to you. Lord, we admit that our lives are a mess. It’s been a long time since we’ve held them up to the light of your truth. Now is the time. Help us to begin today. Let us read these words from Luke’s narrative, let us hear the hardcore accusations spoken by John the Baptist against us as so called “contemporary Christians” and your so called Body of Christ, the Church in your kingdom, let us finally come to our senses. In your name, Amen.

Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.

https://translate.google.com/